“I’ve played through many injuries. This is just one that I can’t play through, and I would never quit on my team. I would never quit on my fans. I would never quit on anybody, my coach, whoever it is. I’ve never been a quitter. For people to say that, it hurt.”

Howard also volunteered that he has spoken with Magic coach Stan Van Gundy “a bunch of times since the playoffs have started, what I see from my view just watching the game.”

After the Magic’s practice today in Orlando, Van Gundy said he had reached out to Howard either right before or right after Game 2 of the team’s playoff series against the Indiana Pacers.

“He’s bored to death because he can’t really do anything,” Van Gundy said. “He’s sitting in a motel and doing his rehab, and the rehab, it’s not like you’re out running three miles or anything. You’re starting slow. So he’s bored more than anything.”